Gonzaga College High School history

Gabriel was a young boy about 13 when he is first located at the Washington Seminary in April of 1822.

However, there were financial problems that caused the Jesuits to withdraw in 1827: their order prohibited the charging of tuition at a day school for youth.

Even though the rules against tuition were changed in Rome in 1833, it took another 15 years for the Jesuits to return.

Additionally, one of the descendants of the enslaved persons sold by Georgetown University in 1838 came and spoke to our students.

It is the oldest educational facility in the original federal city of Washington and was at first called Washington Seminary, operating under the charter of Georgetown College (now Georgetown University), which was becoming too crowded for its space at the time. It continued to be run by laity until the Jesuits returned some twenty years later (with the ordinance regarding tuition changed); President Zachary Taylor presided at the commencement exercises in 1849.

A copy of the signed Charter—dated May 4, 1858—hangs outside the Headmaster's Office today.

Enrollment declined owing to the distance of the new neighborhood from the center, but the Jesuits persevered and by the end of the 19th century the school was once again flourishing. It was located on the same block as St Aloysius Church – built in 1859 and now on the United States Register of Historic Buildings with a high Roman Catholic population surrounding it.

Some of those settlers, in 1881, filed a formal application to incorporate Spokane Falls.

By October, 1883, a stone foundation was laid out for a brick building that would measure one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, with a full basement.

When Gonzaga College opened on September 17, 1887, there were seven students enrolled.

But the neighborhood gradually expanded, the number of applicants increased, and by Gonzaga’s 75th anniversary in 1896, the school was ready to expand.

President Taft on the steps of St Al's in 1909.

The present St Aloysius Church, then located on the edge of the campus, was dedicated in 1911.

That same year, 1912, Gonzaga’s School of Law opened its doors.

Reflecting the spirit of the times, a School of Economics and Business Education was opened in 1921.

1942—Legendary coach, teacher, and mentor Joe Kozik begins his 50-year career.

For the first time, in 1948, Gonzaga's freshman class included women, necessitating a rewrite of The Credo of the Gonzaga Man.

In 1951, he fielded D.C.'s first integrated football team.

In 1954, he became the school's first African American graduate.

The dedication of Buchanan Field in 1973.

A football game on Buchanan Field in 1976.

1985—Forte Hall opens, providing much-needed classroom and office space.

1994—St Aloysius Church is restored.

2000—The campus is transformed through the renovation of the Ruesch and Cantwell courtyard.

By 2007 Gonzaga had regained its former status and a Wall Street Journal editorial referred to it as "the premier Catholic high school of Washington."

2013—Gonzaga’s historic Sheehy Theater is renovated.

Taken in June 2014, this photo shows the beginning of construction for the Eye Street Renewal Project.

The new Eye Street Campus opened in 2015.

In the summer of 2017, a small group of dedicated students began the research on the Georgetown campus.